Charlestown murder case moves to grand jury

By MEGHAN PIERCEUnion Leader Correspondent

CLAREMONT — The Charlestown man accused of killing his wife in June waived his right to a probable cause hearing in the 5th Circuit Court District Division in Claremont last week, moving the case over to the Sullivan County Superior Court in Newport where the case is expected to be presented to a grand jury for indictment.

.An indictment is not a ruling of guilt, but that prosecutors have enough evidence to move forward with a trail.

James R. Robarge, 43, was arraigned on second-degree murder in the 5th Circuit Court District Division in Claremont Aug. 26 after he was extradited from Vermont to New Hampshire...He is being held without bail in the Sullivan County jail in Unity.

According to N.H. Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell, the prosecution has 90 days to present the case to a grand jury once the case reaches the superior court...Robarge is charged with second-degree murder — which carries a life sentence — for allegedly recklessly caused the death of his estranged wife Kelly Robarge in Charleston June 27 by, according to the complaint, “inflicting trauma to her body, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”..On June 27, 42-year-old Kelly Robarge was a grandmother babysitting her one-year-old grandson and a wife filing for divorce when she disappeared and was allegedly killed by her husband, his arrest affidavit on file in the Vermont court says...On July 6, Kelly Robarge’s remains were found about 300 yards off Britton Road in Unity.

New Hampshire courts have sealed his affidavit, but according to the arrest affidavit on file in the Vermont court, investigators found blood splatter and evidence that large amounts of blood had been cleaned up at their home of many years, 124 Happy Acres Road in Charlestown...The arrest complaint says the crime happened at 124 Happy Acres Road. Investigators also found drag marks on the ground outside the home, that were consistent with a body being dragged. Robarge had been estranged from his wife for several months, and had been living with at his stepfather’s home in Saxton’s River, Vt...mpierce@newstote.com..